Anticipation
by Smoltenica
Summary: WWII is over, and Mr Pevensie is returning home. Edmund can't wait to see his father again when he receives a gift that harks back to less pleasant memories. Involves some sibling bonding, set after LWW.


Today was the day.

Edmund fidgeted with his jacket slightly, glancing over at his siblings.

Susan was sitting against the chair, prim and proper as always, looking every inch a queen Narnia. If it weren't for a slight sparkle in her eyes, Edmund wouldn't have known that she had been waiting for this day as eagerly as the rest of them- but then, he thought, he'd probably have known anyway.

Lucy was next to her, her face bright and eager- little Lucy, who still seemed too young and small. It didn't seem so very long ago that she had been Queen of Narnia, Lucy the Valiant. But then, as Lucy reminded him, she'd never really stopped being Queen.

_Once a King or Queen of Narnia, always a King or Queen. _

He looked at Peter, and grinned slightly as he caught his brother's gaze.

King Peter, always a king, but first and foremost a brother.

_We have so much to tell Dad, _he thought, _if only Dad understands. _

Mother hadn't, not really- though she'd looked at him and smiled-

"_Oh, Edmund, how you've changed. I'm so proud of you." _

- she had only stared when they mentioned Aslan, the Great Lion, Aslan- his saviour.

"_What a lovely story, Lucy."_

"_You don't believe me, Mum, do you?" _

_A pause. Then- "I know you wouldn't lie, darling." _

And Edmund knew she didn't think they lied. But still, she didn't understand.

Maybe Dad would.

He stared at the train station in front of him. He knew it well, but it looked foreign, somehow, as though it had changed overnight. It hadn't, of course- he'd been coming here nearly every day for the past few weeks- but…

"Edmund?"

"Mum?"

She stood in front of him, beaming. "It's time, Edmund. The train's come."

He watched Lucy grasp Peter's hand and fairly run forwards, and a smile worked its way onto his face.

"C'mon Ed," said Susan, and they walked together towards the station.

There were hundreds of people, hundreds of people swarming around- but Edmund didn't even glance at them.

_Aslan, help me find him. _

He thought he saw him for a moment- he reached out for Susan, and called weakly- but it only turned out to be another tall, dark haired man with a slight spring in his step. It wasn't his father.

"He's somewhere," Susan said, reassuringly.

"'Course he is," said Edmund confidently. "This is the right train and all. Mum said, didn't you…"

He trailed off.

"Where is-"

"Oh, over there!" shrieked Susan, and Edmund whirled around.

"Dad!"

He barrelled down the station into the older man's arms, not caring that he'd dropped some parcel, nor that his shirt, which his mother had studiously ironed, was fast becoming creased, nor that something embarrassingly like tears were gathering in his eyes- all that mattered was that his dad was here, _now_- and it felt so good to have him back.

It must have been minutes when they finally broke apart.

"How's my boy?" said his father, and Edmund beamed to hear the pride in his voice.

"I'm good, Dad," he replied, feeling that his voice was somewhat distant. "Brilliant, actually."

His father seemed to glow a moment. Then- "I've got a present for you."

"You didn't need to, Dad!"

_Your being here is enough! _

But his father shook his head, smiling. He drew out a box from his bag with a flourish.

"Turkish Delight!" he announced.

Edmund's mouth went dry, and his stomach plummeted.

"Thanks, Dad!" he said, his voice sounding falsely cheery in his ears. The smile on his face felt frozen.

_He shouldn't have gotten it._

_But how was Dad supposed to know? _

"I knew it was your favourite, wasn't it, son?" said his father, still beaming.

"Yeah," he said, trying to sound as enthusiastic as his father expected him to sound. "My favourite."

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Lucy staring at him sympathetically- he felt, rather than saw, Susan reaching out to him.

His father had turned to Susan now.

"What's this, my Susan, all grown up?"

Faintly, he heard her begin to sob.

He stared at the box of Turkish Delight in his hands.

"What a choice," Peter whistled softly.

"Yeah," Edmund mumbled, staring at the box in front of him. "What a choice."

The box was almost identical. It even had a green ribbon. He felt slightly sick.

"I'm so sorry, Ed," came Lucy's voice, somewhere around him.

"What for?" he retorted, wondering in the back of his mind how he could still speak. "It was my favourite food- once."

It hurt to admit it.

_I sold you out for a box of these, once. _

"_It is past." _

_Aslan, please forgive me. _

"_It is forgiven." _

"Are you going to have a piece, Edmund?" asked his father, expectantly.

"What?" he choked. "Now?"

"Edmund," his mother admonished him, "your father bought these when he didn't need to- surely one little piece?"

"_What would you like to eat?"_

"_T-Turkish Delight." _

Susan stepped in, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Ed had a massive breakfast- perhaps when we get home?"

He tried to thank her, but he didn't know how. He could see the hurt in his father's eyes, and it twisted in him like a knife.

"I- I think I could take a piece," he said, hoping his voice was as light as he wished it.

Lucy stared at him. He forced himself not to look at her.

He picked up a piece.

His throat seemed to clam up.

_It's not bewitched, it's not evil, it's not evil, it's good and wholesome, _he thought, panicking.

Then he shoved it into his mouth, chewed it as quickly as he could, and swallowed.

"Mm," he said, trying not to retch. "Delicious. Thanks, Dad."

_It's not evil, it's not evil. _

"I suppose- it wouldn't matter if I have a piece?" asked Susan, looking at him, hesitantly.

He stared at her in shock. "You don't like Turkish Delight!"

Susan paused, and bit her lip. "It's an acquired taste, that's all," she said, "I wouldn't mind trying a piece. That is, if you don't mind," she added, hastily. "It is yours, after all-"

Mr Pevensie laughed. "If I'd known you liked it too, I'd have bought you a box too, Su! But I've been gone a while, haven't I?"

"Too long!" cried Lucy, and when he hugged her again, Edmund turned to Susan.

"Do you really want a piece, Su?"

She looked at him, her eyes filled with certainty, and nodded. He understood instantly.

Susan didn't like Turkish Delight. Susan had never liked Turkish Delight. Susan would never like Turkish Delight. But she was doing this for him.

His heart lightened considerably, and he felt something like tears prickling at the back of his eyes. He blinked them back. A King of Narnia could cry, but it would look suspicious for a boy who'd just received a present from his father.

Instead, he cleared his throat, opened the box, and held it out to his older sister.

"'Course you can have a piece, Su."

Gingerly, she took a piece, and nibbled a corner. A horrified expression filled her face, but she kept eating, doggedly biting the confectionary until it couldn't be seen.

"Yum," she gasped, and everyone could tell she was lying.

He laughed, and Peter and Lucy joined in- fairly soon the whole family was laughing, and Susan was blushing.

"It doesn't quite taste like one expects," she said in a high voice, and they laughed again.

Edmund looked at his family, huddled together, laughing, and looked at the box in his hands.

He was starting to remember how much he loved the taste of Turkish Delight, the texture as he chewed it.

And after all, this box wasn't the Witch's.

He took a piece from the box, and put in his mouth.

This time, he chewed slowly.

His Dad really was the best, Edmund thought as they headed back towards the car, huddled around Mr Pevensie. It was the nicest Turkish Delight he had ever tasted.

--

_A/N: This was inspired in part by Almyra's fic "Land of Make Believe", and I owe her a huge thanks for beta-reading this. I hope you enjoyed reading this, as I enjoyed writing it. God bless!  
_


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